ACU's Gates, Texas Tech's Leong chase NFL dreams at pro day workout

Joey Richards/Reporter-News
Former ACU standout Edmund Gates catches a pass during ACU's pro day on Monday.

Joey Richards/Reporter-News
Former ACU standout and current Cincinnati Bengals running back Bernard Scott, left, takes in ACU's pro day with his brother, Shaylom Richardson, on Monday..

Joey Richards/Reporter-News
Abilene High grad and former Texas Tech standout Lyle Leong catches a pass during ACU's pro day on Monday.

Joey Richards/Reporter-News
Former ACU standout Edmund Gates performs in front of NFL scouts at ACU's pro day on Monday.

Edmund Gates quit playing football after his freshman year at Vernon High School because he thought he was too small to play football. He focused on basketball instead. Monday, he found himself working out in front of scouts from 22 NFL teams at Abilene Christian University's pro day.

A guy who once dreamed of playing professional basketball is now dreaming of playing in the NFL. It's a relatively new dream for the former ACU receiver — a dream that didn't take shape until after his sophomore year with the Wildcats.

The NFL wasn't even on Gates' radar when he tagged along with his cousin Bernard Scott to attend school at ACU. Gates had been booted off the Tyler Junior College basketball team after his freshman season and was back home in Vernon when ACU football coach Chris Thomsen stopped by to recruit Scott, who had just finished up his sophomore season at Blinn College, a junior college in Brenham. Scott convinced Gates to go with him to ACU and walk on to the ACU basketball team. Gates, encouraged by Scott and Johnny Knox at the time, ended up walking on to the ACU football team — after convincing Thomsen he had the tools to play football. It proved to be a life-changing decision for Gates — one that might lead to an NFL career.

Gates, who had 66 catches for 1,182 yards and 13 touchdowns last season for the Wildcats, left ACU ranked second in career receiving yards (2,885), third in receptions (158), tied for first in touchdown catches (27) and fourth in scoring (194 points).

Gates wowed scouts at the NFL combine last month in Indianapolis, covering 40 yards in 4.37 seconds — the fastest time among receivers at the combine. And that was with an injured groin muscle.

But many NFL teams consider the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Gates a project, since he really only started playing football four years ago. The knock on him, according to the scouting report on NFL.com, is that Gates doesn't run good routes, needs to beef up and needs to improve his knowledge of the game. The report said he has the speed to be explosive after a catch, but doesn't track the ball well because of his deficiencies running routes. It said he also drops easy catches sometimes.

Gates is well aware of the scouting reports.

"They watch film as much as I do," Gates said about the scouts. "If they feel like I drop the easy balls, then that's something I'm going to fix. I'm not going to go against what they think. I'm not (going to say), 'I can do this. I can do that.' I just have to prove it to them out here on the field. I can't say things like, 'I won't drop it.' I've just got to prove it to them and compete."

Gates hopes he dispelled some of those thoughts during Monday's workout. He caught passes from former Angelo State quarterback Josh Neiswander, running different routes the scouts wanted to see, and he also fielded some punts from former ACU punter Mark Sprague.

"I feel like I had to just come out and catch the ball, catch punts and run nice routes and just come out here and compete," Gates said.

Gates is currently considered a late-round pick for this year's draft, set for April 28-30, though NFL scouting guru Gil Brandt, blogging for NFL.com after Monday's workout, said Gates could go as high as the third round. Knox was taken by the Chicago Bears in the fifth round two years ago — and he's proven to be one of the top young receivers in the NFL.

"Gates is every bit as good as Knox, probably better based on what we've seen of him," Brandt wrote Monday. "The fact that 22 teams showed up to watch Gates work out tells you how good he is. It's not like he was just an OK starter at a small school; he was a star. And he has backed it up in workouts. Knox's success also gives credence to Gates' ability."

Gates believes he has the talent to play in the NFL, and he believes NFL teams are more willing to give him a look thanks to the success of former ACU players Danieal Manning, Scott and Knox, who are enjoying successful NFL careers. Manning, a starting cornerback for the Bears, was a second-round pick by Chicago in 2006. Knox, a starter for the Bears, and Scott, a running back for the Bengals, were taken in the fifth and sixth rounds in 2009 by their current teams.

"Johnny, Bernard and Danieal, they definitely opened the doors," Gates said. "They definitely did. Not only for me, but for the up-and-coming (players) also."

All three also handle either punt or kick return duties for their teams, and Gates knows he can strengthen his draft chances by proving he can help out on special teams, too.

"Whatever they want my role to be, whether it's punt return or deep snapper, whatever," Gates said. "I'm going to play my role and make the best of it."

While Gates didn't start dreaming about the NFL until after his sophomore year at ACU, former Texas Tech receiver Lyle Leong has been holding onto that dream since he was old enough to catch a ball.

"It's always been a dream to play in the NFL," Leong said. "I'm pretty close, and I want to keep working toward my dream."

Leong, a Abilene High graduate, worked out for scouts at ACU's pro day after a hamstring injury prevented him from taking part in Texas Tech's pro day earlier this month.

"It was kind of cool to be back at my hometown," Leong said. "It felt good to have my parents here and do it at home."

Leong, No. 2 on Tech's all-time list for touchdown receptions (37), wasn't invited to the NFL combine, and he hasn't been asked to perform in any private workouts for NFL teams, so Monday's pro day was an important day for him.

"It's just everything you worked for, what you train for — to come out here and prove yourself," he said. "It's a day to come out and give my best effort and show them what I have."

Leong's chances of getting drafted might be slim. He doesn't even know if he'll get a chance to sign as a free agent, if he goes undrafted. Yet he still clings to that dream of playing in the NFL.

"All I can do is wait until April," he said. "My guess is as good as yours. All I can do pray and hope that I'll be fortunate enough to play in the NFL."

Former Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts, an Abilene High graduate who's been friends with Leong since they played football together in third grade, worked out for the New England Patriots on Monday in Lubbock and could get a shot at playing in the NFL, too. He's considered a possible late-round pick.

"He did well at his pro day," Leong said. "He's always been a hard worker, and it's finally paying off. It's good to see him get what he deserves."